Different standard English-language keyboard arrangements such as the QWERTY, QWERTZ, AZERTY, DVORAK, and FITALY arrangements are known. The most widely used English-language alphabetic key arrangement is the QWERTY arrangement 10, as shown in FIG. 1. The QWERTY keyboard arrangement 10 is a proven industry standard, providing benefits in typing speed and accuracy.
The standard QWERTY keyboard arrangement works on typewriters, computer keyboards, electronic personal digital assistants (PDAs) and mobile devices where the width of the device provides sufficient area for a full sized QWERTY arrangement. FIG. 2 illustrates a mobile device 12 incorporating a standard full-sized QWERTY keyboard 14.
A standard full-sized QWERTY keyboard 14 usually includes three rows and 10 columns of keys arranged in a QWERTY layout representing all the letters of the English alphabet. Furthermore, numbers (0-9) and symbols are either positioned adjacent letters or share keys with letters via toggle keys 55 (e.g., shift, alt, etc.). Full-sized QWERTY keyboard 14 typically suits larger mobile devices with adequate space to accommodate the size of all keys. However, smaller mobile devices such as mobile phones and smart phones may not have sufficient area to accommodate a full QWERTY keyboard.
Mobile devices 12, such as mobile phones, personal digital assistants, pagers, and other devices, commonly incorporate alphanumeric keyboards. Numbers may share keys with alphabetic characters on the top row 16 of a QWERTY keyboard. Alternatively, alphabetic characters may be arranged in a numeric phone keypad arrangement 18, such as one consistent with ITU Standard E. 161, entitled “Arrangement of Digits, Letters, and Symbols on Telephones and Other Devices That Can Be Used for Gaining Access to a Telephone Network.” This standard is also known as ANSI TI. 703-1995/1999 and ISO/IEC 9995-8:1994 and is the standard that you see on most, if not all, telephones sold in the United States today and many mobile phones.
Traditional mobile phones and smart-phones utilize either a Tegic, T9 or multi-tap technique for character input. The main drawback of Tegic, T9 and multi-tap keyboards is that they are cumbersome to use in typing. To access a specific character, a user must press a specific key numerous times. For example, for ITU Standard E. 161 keypads, to access the “C” character, a user must tap the “1” key three times. Consequently, typing on a Tegic, T9, or multi-tap keyboard proves to be slow, frustrating and burdensome.
Reduced size keyboards 20 that are arranged in a standard QWERTY format, shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, are known. This reduced QWERTY keyboard arrangement 20 utilizes the same number of rows 22 of keys, but reduces the number of columns 24 by combining multiple letters onto one key. U.S. Pat. No. 7,083,342 to Griffin describes a mobile communication device that has a reduced QWERTY keyboard of this type, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
The reduced QWERTY keyboard arrangement 20 is suitable for use on medium to larger-size mobile devices that have the space to accommodate up to five columns of keys. However, slimmer phones and smart-phones that may only accommodate up to three columns of keys for a traditional number-pad may not have sufficient area to incorporate the reduced QWERTY arrangement 20. Additionally, some users may consider the reduced QWERTY keyboard arrangement 20 unstylish or unfashionable compared to the traditional, slimmer number-pad keyboard arrangement.